As anyone who has recently wandered through a retail store knows, the world of chic is anchored in the middle of the most feminine era we've seen in a long while.

Lace and eyelet sidles along the clothing's edges. Ruffled skirts, once relegated to the ballet stage or period costume shop, hang on store racks next to sweater sets and flowered pants. Fashion devotees consider the newest accessory for a suit or jeans a peasant blouse. Lucky shopping magazine offers tips on how to pair a ruffled blouse with a business pantsuit.

Is there a deeper message here? Does the flourish of feminine details reflect a shift toward a more traditional woman's role in society?

Are the fashion folks simply trying to entice women who already have closets full of tailored lean black pants, T-shirts and tank tops?

And is there a danger fashion conscious women will go too far with the sweet stuff and end up looking like their granddaughters or at the other extreme, Erin Brockovich?

Dina Turner Relkin, an editor for Tobe Reports, a retail newsletter, said feminine looks are selling well because it has been a long time since they were in fashion. The mid-'80s was perhaps the last time so many ruffles were flapping in the wind. "Women want to feel pretty," she said.

Washington, D.C., consultant Joanna Nicholson, author of "Dressing Smart in the New Millennium," said it is a welcome backlash to the simple sameness of the J. Crews, Gaps and Banana Republics of the world.

"Everything was looking so much alike."

The feminine look's association with a woman's place in culture is a bit hazy. Sportswear buyer Teri Reynolds, of Halls' specialty shop in Kansas City, said it is a symbol of women's liberation from fashion's traditional rules. She says women can go to the office in a soft skirt, open sandals and a ruffled blouse. They can wear what they like rather than adhering to the dress-for-success images of long ago.

Leah Feldon, a fashion consultant and author of "Does This Make Me Look Fat," said we're in a "slightly more conservative era" keyed on the conservative presidential administration. It's not surprising fashion may reflect a more traditional stance.

Certainly, the idea is pervasive in a range of prices and labels. Designer Carolina Herrera touted silk blouses with deep ruffled necklines for spring. Kenneth Cole put ruffled flounces on white A-line skirts. Peasant blouses ranged from high end at Marc Jacobs to low end at Target.

The Limited has black polyester skirts for $49.99, a $19.99 T-shirt with a lace panel inset, a tiered ruffled paisley skirt at $59 and a vintage looking cotton lace shirt for $29.50.

How successful the idea has been is unclear. Stores said the frills are flying high. And certainly it's bound to be palatable to the under-25 set who seldom think twice about wearing low-rise pants and ruffled T-shirts.

But the trend has triggered some questions about the fashion industry's wisdom of investing so heavily in something with limited long-term appeal at a difficult time. Is it really a hit with the baby boomers who have the most money to spend? The Wall Street Journal said not. In a recent story, the Journal reported that retail stores are beginning to take deep markdowns on much of the so-called Bohemian fashion. Apparel sales are down nationally 7 percent among 35- to 54-year-old women, according to the newspaper.

Susie Watson, a trend analyst and former Timex executive, is indignant.

"It's just another sign designers are making clothes that no one can wear," she said. "No one is paying attention to what people want." No one, she said, is doing any real design. They're just recycling.

Nonetheless, moderation may be the key to the feminine fashion's success, experts agreed. Certainly American women have a tendency to overdo an idea. And here is an idea easily overdone. Ultimately, good clean lines are still the mark of style.

But as a softening factor paired with other clothes, some of the most girlie-girl looks may work for many women in a wide age range. Reynolds, the sportswear buyer at Halls, suggested you team a ruffled skirt with a simple white-cotton shirt or a lace top with denim jeans.

Tobe's Relkin agreed. Such items should be considered accessories and worn in a way compatible with personal style. For instance, she likes to team her peasant blouse with a business suit.

"The way everyone in New York is putting herself together - nothing looks the same. There are all these options. It's not a uniform. It's all in the interpretation of it. It doesn't have to be so literal."

Nicholson, who runs a Web site, www.dressingsmart.com, said she has a favorite white tiered skirt she wears with a lace-trimmed or plain T-shirt, a vintage embellished belt and sandals.

Then there is Gisele Posey, an executive with Yellow Freight Co. in Overland Park. She is a fashion-minded consumer who is cautious about the froufrou flood but open minded. "I've never been much of a ruffle person," she said. "But I do like the soft flow of the skirts, or a hemline that's scalloped."

She'll "probably get one of the off-the-shoulder peasant blouses to wear with jeans," she said.